Copy-edit hell?

I'm three-quarters of the way through the copy-edit of The Murder Wall and felt the need to pause for a moment and share my thoughts on how I'm doing. This task is new to me. As a debut author it's the very first time I've been through a manuscript word for word, comma by comma. Of course I've taken notes but this is entirely different.

I was a little nervous at first, worried that I might make a mistake and mess the whole thing up. But I forgot one thing. I'm being guided by a professional who is regarded by many as one of the very best in her field; an amazing woman called Anne O'Brien. I've never met Anne but I believe she was once described as 'the Jedi of all copy-editors' by Val McDermid no less. 

When I was told that Anne would be working with me I was gobsmacked. She has worked with BIG names: Val, as mentioned above, Reg Hill, and the late Michael Crichton to name but a few. Wayne Brookes, my editor at Pan Macmillan, was keen to get her on board from the beginning. He described it as 'a fabulous coup ...' and who can argue with that? She truly is wonderful to work with.

Copy-edit hell is not how I'd describe the experience. The process has made me realise that The Murder Wall is not only in the best of hands but it's also in good shape.